Full Court Press

Thursday, March 21, 2019

USA Will Face Australia in Early Rounds of 2010 Women’s World Championships

By Lee Michaelson

Publisher

FIBA conducted the draw for the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women on today in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, host of next year’s World Championship finals. One thing is clear: Women’s basketball fans are unlikely to have to wait for the finals to witness the long-awaited showdown between Australia, who captured the women’s world title in Brazil in 2006, and the United States, wo hope to reclaim it.

Sixteen countries have qualified to compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship that will be held from September 23 to October 3 in Brno, Karlovy Vary and Ostrava, Czech Republic. The gold medal winner earns an automatic berth to the 2012 Olympic Games. The 16 teams were divided into four preliminary-round pools in today’s draw.

Team USA has been placed in Group B, where they will face France, Greece and Senegal in the first round of games. Australia wound up in the opposite bracket, Group A, which also includes Belarus, Canada and China; Group C consists of Brazil, Mali, South Korea and Spain; and Group D is comprised of Argentina, Czech Republic, Japan and Russia.

The preliminary round will be played in two cities from September 23 through September 25, utilizing a round-robin format within each preliminary round group. The top three finishing teams from each group will advance to second-round play with the top teams in Groups A and B merging into Group E and the top teams in Groups C and D forming Group F. The 12 teams who make it into the second round, which will be played from September 27 through 29, will feature six teams in each group. Each team will play the three new teams in its second-round group.

That means that unless the U.S. finishes last in its pool, and/or Australia does the same in Group A, the two international women’s powerhouses are headed for a showdown in the second round of competition.

FIBA conducted the draw for the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women on today in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, host of next year’s World Championship finals. One thing is clear: Women’s basketball fans are unlikely to have to wait for the finals to witness the long-awaited showdown between Australia, who captured the women’s world title in Brazil in 2006, and the United States, wo hope to reclaim it.

Sixteen countries have qualified to compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship that will be held from September 23 to October 3 in Brno, Karlovy Vary and Ostrava, Czech Republic. The gold medal winner earns an automatic berth to the 2012 Olympic Games. The 16 teams were divided into four preliminary-round pools in today’s draw.

Team USA has been placed in Group B, where they will face France, Greece and Senegal in the first round of games. Australia wound up in the opposite bracket, Group A, which also includes Belarus, Canada and China; Group C consists of Brazil, Mali, South Korea and Spain; and Group D is comprised of Argentina, Czech Republic, Japan and Russia.

The preliminary round will be played in two cities from September 23 through September 25, utilizing a round-robin format within each preliminary round group. The top three finishing teams from each group will advance to second-round play with the top teams in Groups A and B merging into Group E and the top teams in Groups C and D forming Group F. The 12 teams who make it into the second round, which will be played from September 27 through 29, will feature six teams in each group. Each team will play the three new teams in its second-round group.

That means that unless the U.S. finishes last in its pool, and/or Australia does the same in Group A, the two international women’s powerhouses are headed for a showdown in the second round of competition.

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Originally published Tue, November 24, 2009

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Thursday, March 21, 2019

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Credit: Courtesy Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The weekly Division I Top 25 Coaches' Poll, sponsored by USA Today and ESPN, is based on voting by a Board of Coaches made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions all of whom are WBCA members.